August 16, 1988
Honorable Joe Warner Bell Opinion No. Jt4-939
Trinity County Attorney
P. 0. Box 979 Re: Whether a district clerk
Groveton, Texas 75845 may charge a fee for filing
transfer papers in a child
support enforcement action
(RQ-1466)
Dear Mr. Bell:
You ask whether a district clerk may charge a fee for
filing papers in a child support enforcement action
transferred pursuant to section 11.06 of the Family Code.
When a court acquires jurisdiction of a suit affecting
the parent-child relationship, it retains continuing
exclusive jurisdiction of all the parties and issues unless
an exception exists under section 11.06 or 17.06 of the
Family Code. Fam. Code § 11.05.
Your question concerns .the transfer of a case under
subsection (b) of section 11.06 of the Family Code, which,
among other things, addresses a transfer of a proceeding to
the county where a child has moved and currently resides.
Under your scenario it appears that prior to the change of
residence of the child an order for support had been entered
by the transferring court.
Subsection (k) of section 11.06 states:
A court to ~which a transfer is made becomes
the court of continuing jurisdiction, and all
proceedings in the suit are continued as if
it were brought there originally. All judg-
ments, decrees, and orders transferred shall
have the same effect and be enforced as if
originally entered in the transferee court.
See Fassv v. Kenvon, 675 S.W.Zd 217 (Tex. APP. - Houston
[lst Dist.] 1984, no writ).
p. 4721
Honorable Joe Warner Bell - Page 2 UN-939)
Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 89 provides that a court
may dismiss a case transferred on a change of venue if a new
filing fee is not paid. Section 14.13 of the Family Code,
however, addresses the matter of filing fees to be collected
when a motion for enforcement of an order is filed. Section
14.131 provides:
No additional filins fee mav be collected or
reouired in a suit affecting the parent-
child relationship when a party to the suit
files a motion to modify a decree under
Section 14.08 of this code, or when a motion
for the enforcement of an order is filed
under Section 14.09 or 14.091 of this code.
This section does not prohibit the clerk from
collecting a deposit in the amount set by the
clerk as in other cases for payment of
expected costs and other expenses arising in
the proceeding. (Emphasis added.)
Section 14.13 was construed in Attorney General Opinion
JM-396 (1985) where it was stated:
That vrovision makes 'clear that the district
clerk mav not charae a fee for a motion to
modifv a decree or a motion for enforcement
of an order in a suit affectins the
parent-child relationshiv. Apparently the
district clerk's ouestion arose because of
uncertainty about Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Combined Opinion